State Civil Service order hangs over Springfield Fire Department; city yet to rectify hiring missteps

SPRINGFIELD – Four months after a state Civil Service Commission report blasted the Fire Department for allowing a deputy fire chief to participate in a candidate search that resulted in his own son being hired, the city has not yet fully complied with the report’s recommendations.

Chief among them, the city has yet to hire an independent firm to oversee the screening of job applicants and take the responsibility for finding new firefighters out of the hands of the Fire Department. The recommendations were aimed at making things right with those who may have been wrongly passed over.

The city has also failed to provide the state with the names of two firefighter candidates who, the ruling said, had been unfairly passed over because they were on active duty with the U.S. military at the time of the hirings two years ago.

Interim Fire Commissioner Joseph Conant and the city’s labor relations director, William Mahoney, said in separate interviews last week that the hiring of an outside firm will only come into play when the city is ready to hire new firefighters. There are no immediate hirings planned, each said.

Joseph A. Conant

“We are not in the process of hiring firefighters,” Mahoney said. “If we get to that position, then, yes, we have to hire a firm.”

The department may not be in a position to request new firefighters for several months, and possibly not until next year, according to Conant. “There are no plans to hire at this time,” the commissioner said.

In the meantime, the city is appealing the ruling to Hampden Superior Court, seeking to have independent firm condition overturned. Mahoney said he does not expect any action in court until at least August.

“Absent a stay, or a decision in their favor on the appeal, the Springfield Fire Department would need to comply with this order if any hiring occurs beforehand,” Bowman said.

Bowman, in the Dec. 15 report, was heavily critical of the Fire Department hiring practices, citing in particular the case of Deputy Chief Jerrold E. Prendergast for having played a major role in applicant screening while his son, Zachary Prendergast, was among candidates under consideration. Zachary Prendergast was one of 21 hired in 2010 out of a field of 51 applicants.

Bowman’s report cited “strong circumstantial evidence” that Deputy Prendergast “tipped the scales” in his son’s favor. The elder Prendergast conducted background checks on 14 applicants, including his son, and recommended that his son and six others receive follow-up interviews.Springfield Fire Department Investigation
Among the seven people who were bypassed were two applicants who had been on active duty in the U.S. military. Under civil service rules, applicants cannot be bypassed solely because they are on active duty and otherwise unavailable.

Then-Fire Commissioner Gary Cassanelli disagreed with the report’s findings when the report was issued and said there was never any favoritism shown toward any applicant. Cassanelli retired on Jan. 13.

The report also ordered the Fire Department provide the state with the names of the two bypassed applicants who were in the military. If either is still interested in working on the Fire Department, they are to be placed at the top of the next civil service list. Bowman said the city has not complied with that detail of the order, either.

Shortly after the ruling was issued, fire officials indicated to the commission they would be making a written request for clarification on how it was to be implemented.

“We have not received any formal request for clarification and-or confirmation that the Springfield Fire Department has complied with this order,” Bowman wrote.

Conant maintains the city is still seeking clarification.

The department was also ordered to contact each applicant who was tied with Zachary Prendergast on the civil service examination and inform them they have a right to appeal being passed over for jobs. At least five such appeals have already been filed, and hearings are underway.

One such appeal, filed by Jeffrey Pereira, of Springfield, was dismissed. Pereira, the son of a firefighter, missed a filing deadline and was disqualified. He argued that he was not notified of the deadline until it had passed, but the commission ruled Pereira was at fault for having moved and not provided the department with a change of address.

Conant said the city has made an effort to reach out to nine bypassed applicants who were at least tied with Prendergast. Of the nine letters sent out, five were returned because the addresses were no longer valid, he said. For the four others, there have been no replies.

Deputy Prendergast, meanwhile, remains involved with personnel issues within the department, according to Conant. With Cassanelli retired, Prendergast is the most experienced and knowledgeable in personnel issues, the acting commissioner said.

All actions related to the cases from which the report stemmed, however, are in the hands of the city’s Law and Labor Relations departments, Conant said. “I’ve instructed labor relations to keep me involved in the appeals and to comply with all of (civil service’s) orders,” he said.

Mayor Domenic Sarno has not yet indicated whether he will appoint a permanent fire commissioner from within the department or launch a national search for a successor to Cassanelli. Conant said he is interested in being considered for the permanent appointment as commissioner.

If he still holds the position when the department is authorized to hire new firefighters, Conant said he would work to ensure the selection process is more transparent and intends to play a role in the process.

“Moving forward, I will be directly involved with screenings and interviews,” Conant said. In the issues of hiring new firefighters, he said, he would prefer to use his own judgment “instead of going on the recommendations of others.”